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Tonight Barack Obama needs to go back to fundamentals, the campaign themes he ran on and won with in the general election. Here's my proposed opener:

"To remind you what was said by my Democratic predecessor more than a decade ago and is still true today: The era of big government is over. The era of bipartisan politics that rises above ideological dogma and vitriol is here. I reach out to my Republican friends and Democratic friends and say: let is work together, to reduce waste, reform our health care system by reducing costs, increasing access through more transparency and competition, and most important, let's cut taxes on small businesses and workers to create new jobs and increase consumer spending --all paid for by real cuts in the federal budget."

That, I am certain, will lead to a standing ovation and a "new beginning" for the president.

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